In honor of 9/11 and all the people lost in the terrorist attacks, the Tribute in Light shone yet again through the sky of the Financial District. Initially a temporary installation that ran through March 11 to April 14, 2002, the lights have become a yearly tradition and sign of remembrance every September 11th. Next year, the 10th anniversary of the attacks, will be their last year. However, there was a bit of a SNAFU with last night's lighting.
The lights had to be shut off around 11 p.m. after a group of about a thousand birds flew into the lights. The New York City Audubon Society had warned the folks running Tribute of Light about confusing the birds, and ordered the lights to be shut off. The beams were turned on about a half an hour later, and not as many birds returned. A similar bird gathering happened in 2004, and the Audubon Society warned the birds were "seemingly unable to break away - and in danger of depleting crucial fat reserves needed to carry them to their southern wintering grounds."
Though it is definitely planned through next year, sponsors at the Municipal Art Society say they would like to see it become a permanent installation. President Vin Cipolla told the Times, "That would require either a piece of ground or a long-term commitment to a rooftop." Co-creator Gustavo Bonevardi said he'd be happy wherever the installation goes. "Because Tribute in Light is visible from so many places it belongs to the city as a whole and not to this one ’sacred spot.’ The Tribute in Light has never been on ground zero, but it seems to have hit a nerve with the city and to have been very healing.”
